Atlanta home tied to landmark LGBTQ case faces demolition
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The owners of the home want to demolish and replace the house. Photo: Thomas Wheatley/Axios
Historic preservation advocates and constitutional scholars are urging the city to nominate a Virginia-Highland home that sparked a historic LGBTQ legal case for landmark status.
Why it matters: Atlanta's historic buildings and places can be easy to overlook.
- The unassuming Ponce de Leon Place house where Atlanta police arrested Michael Hardwick in 1982 for sodomy in the privacy of his home is one of them.
Catch up quick: Hardwick, joined initially by a heterosexual married couple identified as John and Mary Doe, sued state and local officials, arguing that Georgia's sodomy law violated their rights to privacy.
- In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Georgia's sodomy statute, ruling that the Constitution did not protect a fundamental right to engage in consensual same-sex sodomy.
- Twelve years later, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the statute. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned its ruling in 2003.
Zoom in: This past week, the Board of Zoning Adjustment approved most of the zoning requests Paul and Penny Gutierrez, who bought the property in October 2025, need to build their proposed replacement home.
- Stephen Rothman, the couple's attorney, said his clients would not object to a historical marker but questioned preserving a house substantially altered since Hardwick's arrest.
State of play: Fred Smith, a Stanford Law School professor who lives in Atlanta and has urged the city to preserve the home, told Axios he thinks an appeal of the ruling is likely.
- "Over 90 local individuals and organizations objected before the BZA, as did over 100 law professors nationally," he said. "The local neighbors and organizations are best positioned to have standing, and I anticipate that some will appeal."
What's next: On Nov. 2, the Atlanta City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the Atlanta Urban Design Commission's executive director to initiate the landmark-nomination process and promptly issue a notice of intent to nominate.
- Mailing that notice would trigger up to 120 days of temporary protections from demolition, according to the city code.